We resumed the campaign on Thursday night. Myself and John took on the forces of Pontus (which we rolled for in terms of random forces we'd face).
The bad news was we got 6 loads of cataphracts in the opposition. After 2 hours and much bashing and bawling (and lost units on both sides) we had to call it a draw.
It showed how hard it wwas to take on the barbarian empires - the random element can work in your favour (i.e. you may only face 9 units) but similarly it can go the other way and you'll face 27 units - almost unassailable.
What also didn't help was that I was suffering from a bad chest infection and was dosed up to the eyeballs. My hacking cough and wheezy breath - combined with a general wooziness and tiredness - meant I was a bit addled.
So as we withdrew, I failed to spot the danger and noticed that while I was trying to help my Seleucid 'ally' to protect his borders, he took the oppotunity to rush into Macedonia. He wasn't alone - Russ the Roman also took advantage of my army being hundreds of miles away to launch a 2 prong attack as well.
So I'm pretty much doomed and will have to spend the rest of the campaign fetching the drinks and helping Mark fight anyone who comes into Barbarian territory.
Ah well, we live and learn. Trust no-one will be the motto in future campaigns.
Still, I'll have fun watching Ian eat up Italy as Russ' armies eat up Macedonia!